Brave Alternate Endings
by bStormhands
Summary: Alternative endings to Brave. After all the build up over Merida's archery skills why didn't we get what we were expecting at the climax? Now a version that does use the skills and keeps Elinor's mumbear mode.
1. Chekhov's Ending

"MOR'DU!" It was loud, but it wasn't a shout. Merida put everything she had into projecting her voice to get the beast's attention, as mum had taught her.

She was the only one left standing.

The clans had been scattered by the demon bear. Her father lay in a heap at the base of a regolith, and mum had been flung aside landing at the base of a tree, the boys swarming her trying to find out if she was alright.

Merida had found a bow and an arrow. Her dress was torn, red hair matted in the rain, bleeding from the slashes from mum and Mor'du, but she was standing. Standing between two of the megaliths that made up the henge, across from the monster who had once been a prince.

...

Mor'du turned to look at the tiny girl and her puny bow, the leg of a clansman in his mouth. He knew what the child meant when she called his name. Even the remnant of the ancient prince knew what the poppet wanted.

A challenge.

Many had challenged him, their weapons adorned his back. Only one had been strong enough to blind one of his eyes.

Mor'du turned fully and stood to his full height, almost three times the girl's height, and let out a massive roar that struck fear into all the world.

He took up the challenge.

...

Merida dropped into that place where there was only her, the arrow and the target, as the fletching brushed her cheek. Her father had trained her well; to feel, to know where the arrow needed to be and place it there.

But she had discovered something else she could do, she could pour a bit of herself into the arrow and it could pierce a target like it was hardly there. As she had shown everyone, at the Games, had it only been day before yesterday?

They paused to see each other, girl and monster, to know each other as only mortal opponents can. There was an openness, an intimacy that they shared, that only those who are about to kill each other can know.

A flash of lightning and crack of thunder.

Mor'du lunged. One bound and he was halfway across the henge.

Merida loosed, pouring everything she had into the one arrow she had.

Mor'du knew the arrow would come, many had tried to take out his one remaining eye. He swatted the puny arrow out of the way with his right paw, sweeping it to the left.

Merida saw the vast beast sweep her arrow out of the air with his paw, and saw it auger through the swatting paw and into the dead, left eye of the beast. She had aimed for the good, right eye.

Mor'du barely felt the pain of the arrow passing through his paw before the iron tip drove into his left eye and destroyed his brain.

Merida leapt back as the massive bulk of Mor'du came to a rest at her feet with a massive thump.

The rain ended.

Blue magic curled up from the body of the beast and resolved itself into a man shape, who nodded his thanks to the girl panting on her knees before the massive body and transformed into a will 'o the wisp and darted off into the forest.

The sky cleared and began to lighten.

"The second sunrise." Merida panted as she slowly comprehended what she was seeing, she was drained from all she had done and all that had happened.

"Mum? The tapestry!" She looked around. Angus was near her fallen mother.

Merida levered herself up with the bow and staggered over to Angus and with her remaining strength pulled it off of her horse and onto her mum as the dawn light touched the megaliths.

"Why isn't it working?" Merida asks her mum, Queen Elinor, who she turned into a bear because she was so selfish.

Merida's heart crumples as she sees her mum's eye change.

"Mum, please. This is all my fault. I'm sorry. I love you. I need you, mummy!" She throws herself at the bear hugging her tight, weeping into the dark fur of her mum, her heart breaking because she has destroyed her mum by her selfishness.

Merida gasps as she feels arms around her.

"Mum, you've changed."

"Aye. We both have."

* * *

Author's Note: You know I was expecting something like this for the ending of Brave. Merida's archery skills were this huge Chekhov Gun, and the way her arrow totally penetrated Wee Dingwall's target I was thinking it was significant, but against Mor'du her arrows were ineffectual.

What do you think about an ending that uses the arrow for effect?


	2. Trope Subversion Ending

**Author's Note: One of my dear reviewers pointed some things out to me. She liked that Elinor went all mama bear and saved Merida. And remarked that my ending might be a bit much for a kids movie (like Mor'du isn't high octane nightmare fuel?) But all that got me thinking. How to do it better and keep the important things?**

* * *

"Mor'du." Merida said quietly. Her heart quailed a little, the footstep of the monster shook the ground. She had just defeated her father, in order to save her mum, but he was the one who had the best chance to defeat the demon bear.

"Kill it!" Shouted King Fergus.

About half of the clans charged the beast. The rest were busy restraining their queen, who was in the form of a bear, but they didn't know that.

But it wasn't enough, Mor'du swept them aside as if they were toys.

Fergus struggled to his foot and punched the demon bear.

Merida scrambled for the bow and an arrow that had fallen in her scuffle with her dad. She had to do something.

"I'll take you with ma bare hands." The Bear King shouted, but Mor'du just picked him up and flung him into a megalith as if he were a plaything it was angry at and took a step toward him.

"Mor'du!" Merida projected her voice at the monster, as her mum has taught her, who was tied down behind her with half the clans struggling to keep her contained.

Mor'du had a weakness, just one, that they knew about. He had one dead eye. His eyes were vulnerable. Merida knew she could shoot the one good eye and end his menace. She had proved that to everyone at the Games when she had split Wee's arrow.

Merida drew her bow.

...

Mor'du turned to look at the tiny girl and her puny bow. He knew what the child meant when she called his name. Even the remnant of the ancient prince inside him knew what the poppet wanted.

A challenge.

Many had challenged him, their weapons adorned his back. Only one had been strong enough to blind one of his eyes.

Mor'du turned fully and stood to his full height, more then twice the girl's height, and let out a massive roar that struck fear into all the world.

He took up the challenge.

...

Merida dropped into that place where there was only her, the arrow and the target, as the fletching brushed her cheek. Her father had trained her well; to know, to feel where the arrow needed to be and place it there.

But she had discovered something else she could do, she could pour a bit of herself into the arrow and it could pierce a target like it was hardly there. As she had shown everyone, at the Games, had it only been day before yesterday?

They paused to see each other, girl and monster, to know each other as only mortal opponents can. There was an openness, an intimacy that they shared, that only those who are about to kill each other can know.

A flash of lightning and crack of thunder.

Mor'du lunged and in one bound he was halfway across the henge.

Merida loosed, pouring everything she had into the one arrow she had.

Mor'du swatted the arrow out of the air like a fly.

Merida back-pedaled.

Mor'du batted the bow from the girl.

Merida fell.

Mor'du roared into the face of the poppet. His jaws closing over her head.

Merida screamed in terror, because there is nothing left she can do.

Elinor the mama bear, roars as she threw off the clans and charges Mor'du.

No one will harm her baby!

_( complete the movie as is )_

* * *

**Author's Note: The big problem I am feeling with Brave is that they did this huge foreshadowing with Merida's archery skills. They even gave her a superpower to make the arrow penetrate the target far deeper if she was concentrating. She does use her archery skills to stop her dad from killing her mum while Angus is galloping into the henge. **

**Everyone knows that Mor'du has a weakness with his one dead eye, even the boys knew that. **

**Everything was pointing to the fact that Merida was going to use her archery skills to take down Mor'du.**

**And they never used it in the climax! I even wrote down, before I went, that I was expecting Merida to solve the problem with a well-placed arrow.**

**They needed another one of those slow motion shots of her loosing the arrow, heading for Mor'du's good eye, but this time Mor'du just swats it out of the air. This would subvert the trope and still give us what we are expecting and keep the rating PG.**


End file.
